Ford Kills Off Last Remaining Planned Focus Model for U.S.

the last remaining focus model ford planned to sell in the u.s. amid its, uh, refocus to suvs, crossovers, hybrids and electric vehicles is no more. in the wake of tariffs imposed on chinese imports by the current presidential administration, ford made the decision to cancel imports of the focus active to the u.s.

the focus active would've been a more off-road-looking version of the focus — think lots of plastic cladding — built in china and imported to the u.s. a ford spokesman told us, "call it a done deal, because we've cut the development."

that means that, even if the tariff situation changes, ford won't be changing directions.

ford also expects this decision to have a minimal impact on its business, given expectations of selling less than 50,000 focus actives here. with this decision, the mustang is left as the only car in ford's future lineup for north american markets. from our earlier reporting, the automaker is planning on having 90 percent of its products be trucks, suvs or commercial vehicles by 2020.

when asked about its plans, ford's spokesperson told us, "ford is growing its vehicle lineup — including introducing all-new trucks, utilities, hybrids and fully electric vehicles — and is committed to returning operating margins to 10 percent in north america." ford has previously said that those plans include adding hybrid powertrains to its top-selling vehicles — things like the f-150 pickup truck and explorer and escape suvs.

this seems to be the first official announcement that the tariffs have affected an automaker's plans to the point of actually canceling plans for bringing a vehicle here, although gm previously voiced concerns about its china-built envision suv and has asked for an exemption for it, according to automotive news.

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